The overall purpose of the podcast is to explore possible answers to two questions: (1) What is the Bible? and (2) What do we do with the Bible? The standard (yet simplified) fundamentalist and/or conservative evangelical response to these questions is, in my experience, best expressed by the following statement found in The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy: "Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God's acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God's saving grace in individual lives" (emphasis is mine).
Yet, many people who, upon a close reading of Scripture, find this position untenable, both intellectually and in practice, still see the Bible as a vital part of God's revelation of himself and his will. They believe that God communicated with, and through, finite and fallen human beings who lived in ancient times and specific cultures. The title of Kenton L. Sparks' book, God's Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of Critical Biblical Scholarship, sums up the understanding of more and more believers who are confronted by the confusing and often contradictory diversity found within the books of the Bible. Peter Enns' book, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament attempts to use the analogy of Jesus' incarnation to explain how the Bible is book of divine and human origin.
I have listened to almost all of the episodes in the B4NP podcasts. This last one reminded me of a few things that are vitally important (IMO) for me to remember so that I can reflect on my own life and doctrine. First, I need to remember that how I view the Bible is very dependent on my culture, socio-economic situation, academic exposure, language and my personal experiences with religious beliefs and practices.
Second, whatever my view of the Bible, reading and striving to understand its message, requires various levels of interpretation. In fact, the translations I read (in my native language) are, in and of themselves, interpretations on the part of the translators. Even though I am able to dig into the biblical texts in their original languages, I still have to interpret what those ancient words meant in the cultural contexts in which they were written before I can understand what the Bible means to me in the present world. That really involves several levels of interpretation.
Third, I need to remember that I can never be absolutely sure that my personal interpretations are 100% accurate with respect to what the biblical writers were originally striving to communicate. However, I truly believe that my God is "big enough" that it's OK as I try my best to get it as "right" as I possibly can and as I strive to live according to my convictions, while at the same time remaining open to learning from others who see and interpret the texts differently than I do.
Fourth, I don't have to reflect very long to see in my own life, how easy it is for me to "weaponize" the Bible. Sadly, I remember too many times where I used proof texts that seemingly supported my interpretations in order to attack, accuse and belittle those with whom I disagreed. Hopefully, prayerfully, that is in my past!
Fifth, I was reminded that while what I believe is very important (i.e., "correct doctrine"), how I live out what I claim to believe is at least equally important (and, IMO, probably more so). Jesus is quoted as saying, "By their fruit you will recognize them (i.e., false teachers)." Paul teaches us that those who live according to the Spirit will consistently demonstrate the Spirit's fruit in their lives (i.e., "love, joy, peace, patience," etc) and will resist the deeds of the flesh (which include, "hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying," etc.). So what if I believe the "right" doctrine but I am belligerent, unkind, and even hostile in my expressions of what I believe. Why can't I disagree and even debate without attacking the person, judging and negatively categorizing those whose understandings of all things biblical differ from my own?
Sixth, I was reminded that historically, starting not very long after the death and resurrection of Jesus, there were differing opinions, doctrinal understandings and religious practices about which the early Christians discussed, debated, argued and (sadly) even divided. Even within the NT texts there are examples of individual and collective disagreements that were not entirely resolved. In this context of differences and disagreement Paul wrote: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, but do not have love, I receive no benefit." What benefit is there to having the "right" beliefs and religious practices, but not having love? There is no benefit to me, nor am I of benefit to others.
And finally for me, as I read "God's word in human words" (i.e., the Bible), I need to understand that it often presents the ideal faith and practice. The reality, however, also revealed in the Bible and via extra-biblical documents and archaeological discoveries, is that real faith and practice rarely measure up to the ideal. This was as true for the ancient Israelites and early Christians as it is true for Jews and Christians of all ages, past, present and future. Thank God for his patience, persistence and ultimately for his grace, as my own faith and practice rarely live up to my understanding of the ideal. Who I am is who I am and it is often not what I want to be. I believe that God is big enough to get that and yet still love and accept me.
I am looking forward to reading, upon publication in 2019, Peter Enns' newest book, How the Bible Actually Works. As he states in a recent email message, he wrote this book for the frustrated Christian, the barely Christian and the formerly Christian, i.e, those for whom the so-called "orthodox" beliefs and practices do not make sense intellectually and/or in practice.
Thank you, Peter and Jared, for the reminders and for the perspectives you have introduced to me. You have given me the words that help me understand what has been going on for me for most of the last fifteen years.
Dear reader, if any of this resonates with you, here are the resources I've referenced in this post, for your further study and reflection:
- Sparks, Kenton L. God's Word in Human Words. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008.
- Enns, Peter. Inspiration and Incarnation. Baker Publishing, 2015.
- Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy: https://library.dts.edu/Pages/TL/Special/ICBI_1.pdf
- The Bible for Normal People podcast: 72: https://thebiblefornormalpeople.podbean.com/e/episode-72-pete-jared-season-2-retrospective/
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